Daddy comes home! (Pictures)

What a crazy, but wonderful week it has been. Shawn came home from Kansas late Thursday night. It was so great to see him after being gone for 3 weeks. You never really realize how much you actually need someone until they are gone. I always missed him on a daily basis when he lived here and was just 5 miles away at work, so I knew this "weeks at a time" span would be difficult on us all. Brookie B is a BIG daddy's girl and she is having a really hard time with it. Hopefully it wont last much longer. The house has only been listed for a month but we have had 6 views and some interest but no offers as of yet. We have agreed to give it a couple more months and then we will rent it out and purchase our new home. I can't wait to get settled in it. I already have it all decorated in my mind :) I have all the faith that St. Joseph buried in our backyard will bring good luck to our selling and Shawn and I have been praying like crazy. God has a plan for us; this we know. All in good time...

When Shawn arrived Thursday night the kids were in bed. I had three surprises for him, so of course I had to "give" them to him. The first surprise was our repainted "master suite". We painted the room a couple of years ago; three walls and ceiling in beige and the wall the bed was on in Chocolate brown and our bedding contained shades of oranges, browns, golds and purples, but it was time for a change. I purchased a black/charcoal/silver king sized duvet with a damask design on Overstock.com a month or two ago and decided it was time to try it out! So, I repainted that brown wall in a sea blue color, slapped on the silver bedding and accented with blue, beige and silver pillows and it looks absolutely gorgeous. He LOVES it; I LOVE IT, so it was a yahtzee all the way around. This summer we gave the master bath a complete overhaul so the entire room looks like a million bucks. Kinda like living in our own hotel.

My second gift to Shawn were tickets to Cordova Speedway for this past Saturday night to watch the World Series of Drag Racing in Cordova, IL. Man, was he ever excited! We all were! The kids and I had never been to a drag race before and I knew that he loved them so it was a win/win! Logan said it

was "even a bit cooler than dinosaurs" so you know how great he thought drag racing was!

Our favorite, by far, were the jet engine "funny" cars. Man, those things "flew". And the rumble in the seats was intense! Brooklyn's eyes nearly popped out a few times, but she really enjoyed it too. It was a good thing we stopped and purchased her a pink pair of ear muffs before arriving at the track. She wore them the whole day and never made a fuss. She was just happy to be with her daddy.

We all love anything that has (big) motors/engines and make lots of noise so drag racing is definitely added to the "family to do list" along with truck and tractor pulls, mud boggs, monster trucks, demo derby's and such. (My dad is going to be disappointed when I call him and tell him not to build me a tractor, but a dragster instead!) The more fire, the better!

My third and final gift to Shawn (the big boom of them all) was a "congratulations on your new job; we are so proud of you and thankful for all you do for us" Bulova dress watch. I stumbled upon it at the

jewelry store when I went in to pick up my ring after getting it resized and cleaned. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the perfect watch for his collection. I think he was a little surprised that I picked out one on my own that he loved...I reminded him that I also picked out his last one that I purchased him last Christmas. I have that picky personality of his, all figured out. Now, he knows too. :) He is pretty proud of the new watch. He shows everyone, posted pics on Facebook, so I am really happy that I decided to sped my entire stash of Miche commission on that watch he seems to love so dearly. It was worth it, because he is definitely worth it. Luckily, I have a few years to save up for the next one!

Friday morning we got Logan off to school and Brooklyn and I decided to surprise Daddy with breakfast in bed. On the menu: loaded breakfast burritos with a side of cantaloupe and grapes, accompanied by his favorite OJ and milk. They were delicious! Then, Brookie, Daddy and I, snuggled in bed and watched TV until 10:30. It was great. Afterward, we went out and did a little yard work before going into town and running a few errands, going out to dinner and returning home for a peaceful evening and an early bedtime for all. Races tomorrow!!

Saturday morning, we started our "race day preparations" and off to the track we went! The track wasn't very congested by the time we arrived at 2:00, but by 6:00 it was packed like sardines in a can. There is nothing in the world like deep-fried corn dogs, oreos and funnel cakes!

Sunday, Shawn headed out in the early a.m. for Erie, Pennsylvania for an action workout. He will return and spend this next weekend with us before returning to Kansas to go back to work. We haven't any plans for the upcoming weekend yet, but I am sure we will figure out something. In the meantime, the kids and I are holding the fort down. I am planning to take the kids to the circus on Thursday. Tomorrow we are meeting my girlfriends at Lake Storey for a picnic in the park. Really looking forward to that. I will sure miss these girls when we are gone so I spend as much time with them as I can before we finally do leave. Mom2Mom starts again this Friday! That is certainly something to look forward to :)

In other family news, our beautiful neice, Allison Danielle Murphy, aka "Little Miss Murphy" is 6 months old! My how time flies! Mommy sent Aunt Kelly and Uncle Shawn new pictures!! Isn't she beautiful!?

Oh, we also have a new addition to our household! Shawn bought me a new treadmill. The "Horizon T700"! It is sweet! After we get settled in the new house, we are going to add a Bowflex machine and pool to our "home gym". Until then, I will keep my YMCA membership.

I'm baaaaack!

7 months...yes, I have not had time to write in 7 months. We have had birthdays, wrapped up a school year, enjoyed a summer and have gone through a job change in all that time. Now that things have slowed down a bit, maybe I can get caught up. Actually, that is so not true. Things haven't slown down. They are actually about to get worse with this relocation, but we are sure excited! Through it all I have managed to take a few notes in the past months to sum things up when I finally had a chance to sit down beyond this computer for something other than to feed my Facebook and eBay addictions. :)

So, here we go:

FEBRUARY:

We of course celebrated, LOVE. Other than that, we had a very special birthday. Shawn turned the big 3-3 and got the gift of his dreams...an "upgraded" GPS that does everything but drive your car. And, I made his favorite, Banana Cream Pie, so his birthday was nothing less than heavenly. We also welcomed a new addition to our family. Our sweet rescue dog, Haylee. She is two. She is definitely a Mommy's girl. Only fair I guess. Brookie claimed Daddy! I don't know why, but the dog claimed me. I trip over her constantly as she follows me everywhere.

MARCH:

Another birthday! Logan turned 8 and we celebrated his birthday at T-Rex Cafe in Kansas City. His favorite place. I really like it too. All the animatronic dinosaurs are fascinating. The food is great too, even though it is pretty pricey.

APRIL:

Yep, another birthday...Larynn celebrated her 11th by having a friend stay after a roller skating party. She is pretty easy to please. Next year I am going to take her horseback riding. She will be so thrilled. We hit a milestone in the Ditsch Household this month. Little miss Brookie B is fully potty trained at 2 1/2 years old! She is a very smart girl (well, obviously) so she picks up on things quickly. Thank goodness. NO MORE DIAPERS....EVER...(Sorry mom...Sonya will have to take over the baby making from here on out!)

MAY:

May was very special for us. Shawn and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary. Man, time sure flies when you're having fun. I love that man. Marrying him was the best decision I ever made...finally got one thing right, at least. Yes, we went out and while we were out we decided that we are too old for going out, lol. We stuffed our bellies and were ready for bed. No, we didn't go home. We managed to follow through with the date as planned but next year we will plan something more "hotel" related and just enjoy one another rather than run around the town.

JUNE:

Wrapped up the school year! We now have a 2nd grader and Larynn starts Junior High. Oh. My. Lord. Not long ago, I was in Junior High. I remember my first day. I can't believe my daughter is about to experience hers. Makes me sad and happy, all at the same time. Shawn also interviewed for a new position out of state (farewell to Illinois, we will leave you WITH BELLS ON) and his chances of an offer are excellent. We have our fingers crossed. We LOVE our house and will miss it dearly, but we are pretty confident that we will find one there that we will love just as much. We refuse to "settle."

JULY:

Shawn got the job! We have listed our home for sale and we are out of here! We will miss you, dear friends :(

Another birthday. Yes, yours truly! I turned 32 this year! I am loving the 30's. I always said they would be the best years of my life. So far, it is going pretty good. This month I also became a MICHE bag Commissions Rep...my birthday present was a $499 starter kit. I am having so much fun with it thus far. They sell themselves so there isn't much work involved. I love being able to get out of the house (dressed up!) and meet new friends while catching up with old. It also gives Shawn a chance to play with the kids and get some of their attention. They enjoy reading and building dinosaurs downstairs. He has gotten pretty good at painting finger and toe nails :) Brookie loves it when daddy paints her nails, followed with a princess dance party. Yes, we do a lot of living room dancing! We sure love to laugh.

I was offered a job as a real estate listings proof reader after expressing my concern to an agent about her spelling during our new home search. I accepted. Kelly Ditsch Designs has also taken on another wedding floral job for an event in November. Better get a crackin' on those.

AUGUST:

Shawn started his new job August 1st after a fabulous farewell bash with the Galesburg shop crew. We had a great time. Thank you Jason Greenwood. You have finally redeemed yourself from the nasty beer incident. You will be missed.

School has finally begun...I am enjoying the peace and quiet so far. Of course, that normally only occurs when Brookie B is asleep. There isn't much of either with that little, energetic, motor mouth around. :) She sure does put the "spice" in life.